


At Night

by TheJKWolf



Series: Mario Universe [1]
Category: Super Paper Mario (Game)
Genre: Gen, No Romance, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:20:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26158693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheJKWolf/pseuds/TheJKWolf
Summary: Nastasia stumbles upon Dimentio one night, discovering a side of him she never knew existed.
Relationships: Dimentio & Nastasia
Series: Mario Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902637
Kudos: 28





	At Night

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first SPM fanfiction i wrote for a reading group on Mario stories. I plan to come back to this at a later date, but for the moment it won't get changed. Constructive criticism is appreciated,

A noise echoed through the dark halls finding its way to the upper floors and disturbing Nastasia in her futile attempt to sleep. She sighed, crushing the odds of finding any sleep tonight. Being the one responsible for most of their plans she started staying up later and later, discarding sleep in favour of her work, which led to an unhealthy sleep schedule. She was, in shorter words, very much sleep deprived most of the time.

The void that was drawing nearer every day wasn’t exactly a reason to go to rest feeling safe either.

People like Mimi and Dimentio were another reason for this, running around and pulling pranks on others and not caring for the other inhabitants of the castle. 

Expecting once again to scatter one of their jokes - although she still hoped it would turn out to be something mundane as a door closed too loudly - Nastasia dressed herself into something more appropriate, took her glasses and made her way to the cause of the disturbance.

It turned out to be the kitchen, worrying her more and diminishing her hopes that she could head back to her room in no time. 

As she drew nearer she noticed through the open door that someone was sitting at the table. The figure was bent forward with their head resting on one hand while the other held a cup of steaming liquid in it. Not wearing any of his characteristic clothes, it took her a moment to recognise them as Dimentio. He wore a tank top and baggy pants, covering most of his legs. His hands, however, were ungloved, leaving the arms and hands free to show various nasty scars running along them.

Rare as this may be, it was his face that made Nastasia halt in her movement. Absent of the mocking smile he normally wore and his eyes closed, a slight tormented expression filled his expression. 

He didn’t move at all, a stark contrast to his usual mannerism. 

Nastasia wasn’t sure if he even noticed her. He seemed so lost in thoughts that he didn’t take in anything happening around him. It took her a moment to gather herself, faced with such an unordinary situation, but a slight worry for Dimentio started to creep up in her. 

She made a few cautious steps forward, with only the table separating them, when she raised her voice. 

“Dimentio?”

Her voice was filled with worry, more so than she intended, but she got his attention. 

Dimentio’s eyes snapped open with his head jerking upwards. Taking in the situation in mere moments, his expression switched from a surprised to a more neutral one, a little static smile on his face, albeit Nastasia still made out some anxiousness in his eyes of being discovered without him noticing. 

“Ah, Nastasia. What brings you here at this time of the night? Shouldn’t you be asleep, dreaming like a bear in its winter nest?”

Nastasia only raised her eyebrows at his attempt to divert her attention. 

“Are you alright, Dimentio? I do not believe I have ever seen you in the middle of the night without trying to stir some trouble.”

Dimentio’s smile faltered a bit and he looked at her - intending to say something - but his gaze went past her, staring into the nothingness for a moment. He then lowered his head a bit, glancing into his cup without saying anything, already lost in his thoughts again. 

Nastasia also looked at the drink before him and frowned at its content. 

“Coffee? You usually prefer tea.”

It was more of a statement but Dimentio answered her anyway, with a bitter smile on his lips, still looking down: 

“Tea is for the taste, for the calming feeling in your chest as it warms your body. But if you want to stay awake”, he lifted the cup up then, “coffee it is.” and took a mouthful of its content.

It reminded Nastasia of herself whenever she had nightmares: Waking up in the middle of the night, tossing and turning with the urge of staying awake and to not let the demons into her mind again. How many cups of coffee have been downed in such nights she does not know. 

Feeling a connection with his troubles, she voiced her thoughts, trying to let him understand that he doesn’t need to feel isolated.

"If you want to talk ab-" 

Dimentio interrupted her before she could say much.

“Nastasia, please, stop. I don’t try to pry into your past, so please stay clear from mine. It is over. It's not something we are able to change.”

“Yet it torments you enough to let it steal your sleep and mind at night.” 

There was silence for a few seconds. Then Dimentio let out a laugh under his breath, smiling humourless as he reinforced his grip on the cup. 

“What happened all those years ago…” he nearly lost himself in his memories but then continued, “...those are my own little demons I created. But it is nothing I can ever hope to change.”

Dimentio then stood up, startling Nastasia. She immediately adjusted her glasses, more out of a reflex than a need while Dimentio drained the rest of his coffee.

“Now, I believe that was enough unnecessary detour into my past. I wish you a sound sleep, Nastasia.“ 

But before Dimentio was able to raise his hand, ready to teleport back to his room, Nastasia walked around the table and closed the distance between them. 

He froze as she hugged him. 

She may not know what keeps him awake at night. She probably never will; Everyone here has had their fair share of mistakes they had made and demons that haunted them. They wouldn’t be here otherwise. But that doesn’t mean he has to face them alone.

It isn’t really in her expertise or character to comfort others, but if she was able to take just a little bit off of his shoulders, it was worth it. 

For a few moments time seemed to stop. Then, slowly, Dimentio lowered his head to rest on her shoulder. It felt as if he didn’t see Nastasia right there. She seemed to be someone else for an instant, someone far more important to him. Someone he needed. Someone who is probably long gone. 

After a few minutes Dimentio freed himself from the hug, avoiding looking directly into her eyes. He raised his hand and clicked his fingers, not before taking one last glance at Nastasia before vanishing. 

Nastasia smiled a little. She was close enough to hear the words he muttered before he left. 

A silent Thank You, still echoing in her head as she made her way back to her room. She had a feeling she would be able to fall asleep this time.


End file.
